Status of third-country nationals who are
long-term residents in the EU : deadline for rules to take effect on 23 January
2006

Since the Community acquired competence in the area of migration under the
Treaty of Amsterdam, it has adopted a series of legislative instruments on the
conditions for the admission and stay of third-country nationals: Directives
concerning family reunification (2003/86/EC), students (2004/114/EC),
researchers (2005/71/EC) and long-term residents (2003/109/EC). These directives
create a legal framework, aiming at assuring equality of treatment and according
rights of access to employment, and to education/training, all of which elements
are necessary components not only for a credible immigration policy but also for
any successful integration of third-country nationals.

Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of
third-country nationals who are long-term residents is a cornerstone of this
legal framework. It translates into legal reality the express call of the
Tampere European Council, that the legal status of third-country nationals
should be approximated to that of Member States' nationals and that a person who
has resided legally in a Member State for a period of time to be determined and
who holds a long-term residence permit should be granted in that Member State a
set of uniform rights which are as near as possible to those enjoyed by citizens
of the European Union.

Based on the already existing tradition in Member States that the length of
residence has an influence on the level of rights of the person concerned, the
Directive determines the conditions for long-term resident status, a period of
continuous legal residence of five years being the fundamental requirement. To
acquire long-term resident status, third-country nationals have to prove that
they have adequate resources and sickness insurance, to avoid becoming a burden
for the Member State. Member States may require third-country nationals to
comply with integration conditions, in accordance with national law.

Long-term residents enjoy reinforced protection against expulsion. This
protection is based on the criteria determined by the decisions of the European
Court of Human Rights. In order to ensure its practical application, Member
States have to provide for effective legal redress. Long-term resident third
country nationals are guaranteed equal treatment with nationals of the EU in a
wide range of economic and social matters.

Long-term residents will also have the right to reside in another Member
State for employment, study or other purposes on the conditions set out in the
directive. Family members will be able to settle in another Member State with a
long-term resident in order to preserve family unity and to avoid hindering the
exercise of the long-term resident's right of residence. These provisions will
contribute to the effective attainment of an internal market as an area in which
the free movement of persons is ensured. It could also constitute a major factor
of mobility, notably on the Union's employment market.

As it is also the case in all other migration directives, Member States
remain able to check that the persons concerned do not constitute a threat to
public policy, public security or public health.

Although precise data about the number of third country nationals who have
been legally residing in an EU Member State for at least 5 years is not
currently available, an extrapolation of existing data, based on the third
country national population in the EU25 minus the net migration figures for
recent years, indicates that at least 10 million of legally residing
third-country nationals could qualify as beneficiaries of this Directive.

The Directive was unanimously adopted by Member States on 25 November 2003
and has to be transposed by Member States by 23 January 2006 at the latest. By
mid-January only 5 Member States (Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and the
Slovak Republic) have notified their implementing measures to the Commission.
Three Member States (Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom) are not bound by its
provisions. The Commission regrets this delay in transposition and the legal
uncertainty for third-country nationals resulting from it.

With regard to those Member States who have not notified any implementing
measures yet, the Commission will take appropriate procedural steps according to
its power conferred by Article 226 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community.